The present invention relates to a sign-language learning system and method which store, search and output information used in learning of a sign-language, and which efficiently enable learning of the sign-language.
A sign-language is a gesture language with an independent system which has been developed as a communication means of deaf people. The inventors have proposed a sign-language translation system which uses a glove with a special sensor to convert motion of parts of the hands into electrical signals, and which translates the electrical signals into a spoken language (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/029,046, filed Mar. 9, 1993, and entitled "SIGN-LANGUAGE TRANSLATION SYSTEM AND METHOD").
Further, the inventors have proposed a continuous sign-language recognition system in which, in order to perform normalization of a pattern of a sign-language in consideration of nonlinear expansion and compression of the pattern of the sign-language, correspondence between samples for a standard pattern is obtained by means of the DP collation, and an average between correspondence points is calculated to prepare a standard pattern for the sign-language (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/111,380, filed Aug. 24, 1993, claiming the priority based on Japanese patent applications Nos. 04-247285 and 04-235633, and entitled "SIGN RECOGNITION APPARATUS AND METHOD AND SIGN TRANSLATION SYSTEM USING SAME".
As described above, there are some examples for recognizing a sign-language used by deaf people mainly and outputting it as a spoken language, while there is no system used by hearing people and deaf people in order for them to learn a sign-language itself. Heretofore, in learning a sign-language, a textbook explaining a definite method of a sign-language by photographs and illustrations, and video tapes recording images, have been used.
However, the motion of a sign-language can be expressed roughly in books such as the textbooks, while there has remained the problem that a positional relationship in space and a subtle change of a speed have been difficult to express.
An image recording medium such as the video tape can accurately express a series of motions but cannot make a display in the form satisfying the requirement of a learner in such a way as to quickly search desired data, to change a viewpoint in various directions, to replace an operation by a reverse operation for the left-handed, and so forth.
When a learner attempts to examine which meaning a certain motion of a sign-language has or to examine if any other sign-languages having similar motion exist, this search operation has been extremely difficult because the contents of motions must be compared one by one.
In addition to great location difference and individual difference, new words are always being generated and, moreover, the words always change. According to the prior art, however, it has been extremely difficult for the learner to expand the text by adding new words by himself.
It has not been possible, either, to test to which extent the learner has learned the sign-language.